


Serendipity

by dumbdpaus



Series: tumblr giveaway [2]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, and he needs a date to the prom, and.... he asks danny, because reasons, but dash is a good friend, dash has been paulina's beard for a while but now he can't be, even when he was an asshole to everyone else, he was a good friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-05 20:04:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17331461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dumbdpaus/pseuds/dumbdpaus
Summary: Tumblr prompt fill: "Dash couldn't get a date to the dance so he asked Danny so he didn't have to be dateless" for alaera-dcfan on tumblr.--The thing was: Dash was supposed to go with Paulina.He’d been Paulina’s beard for most of his school life, starting back in elementary school. Little Polly kissed Valerie under the bleachers in fifth grade. Some asshole took a picture and posted it all over the internet and it got back to her parents. She’d begged him to be her boyfriend the next day, her lip split and her right cheek bruised purple.And, well, he couldn’t say no to that face.





	Serendipity

The thing was: Dash was supposed to go with Paulina.

He’d been Paulina’s beard for most of his school life, starting back in elementary school. Little Polly kissed Valerie under the bleachers in fifth grade. Some asshole took a picture and posted it all over the internet and it got back to her parents. She’d begged him to be her boyfriend the next day, her lip split and her right cheek bruised purple.

And, well, he couldn’t say no to that face.

Now they’d been “steady” for eight years. Paulina snuck off to see Star, and he flirted with the other cheerleaders. It was a good deal for them both, though it made him look like even more of an asshole than he was. But it worked. He fed off her popularity, and her parents never found out how much she liked kissing girls.

So he was supposed to go to the dance with Paulina.

—

“We can’t go together,” Paulina said, eyes downcast. She scuffed her shoe along the floor. Dash hadn’t seen her so unsure of herself in years.

“What?” he said. “Why not?”

“My parents,” she said. “They’re suspicious. They’ve heard the rumors about you sleeping around. They don’t get why it doesn’t upset me.”

Oh. Oh shit. “Well, did you tell them that it isn’t true?”

“I tried that,” she said, wiping at her eyes. “They didn’t believe me. They… figured maybe Star had something to do with it.”

“Oh shit,” he said.

“Yeah. So I just lied and said I wasn’t upset because I was also sneaking around and seeing Kwan.”

Dash pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is so complicated.”

Paulina sighed. “Tell me about it. Anyway, now they think our relationship is ‘unhealthy’ and say I have to end it and just be with Kwan.” She pulled her eyes up to meet his. “You understand, right? I have to.”

For a moment, he wanted to say no. He had been her good little boyfriend for eight years. He had done whatever she needed, thrown Star into the closet more than once when Paulina’s parents came knocking. He’d taken the hits to his reputation like a champ, and now he was being ditched the day before prom? No, he wanted to say, he didn’t understand it at all.

But, for a moment, he saw little Polly’s face, darkened from her father’s hand, and he could never say no to that face.

—

“Maybe,” he said, “this is a blessing in disguise.”

Kwan didn’t look up from his copy of Sports Illustrated. “Don’t think so, dude.”

“No, it is! Look, all the kids here think I’m a cheating asshole. Now I have a chance to prove them wrong!”

“How?”

Dash opened his mouth. “I—have no idea.”

“Dude, if you wanna start rehabbing your image, you should probably start with all the kids you used to beat up. People definitely hate you more for that than the cheating on Paulina thing.” Kwan considered for a moment. “Actually, they hate both of us. But mostly you.

Dash groaned.

Kwan shrugged and turned the page. “Hey dude, I’m just stating facts. I’ve at least been nice to some of them since freshman year. I’m kinda-friends with Sam, even. You’ve just been too scared to own up to your mistakes with them.”

“Dude. Not helping.”

“I’m just saying! Maybe you should take one of them to prom.”

Dash groaned again.

—

“Ok, so here’s the deal, Fenton: can you keep a secret?”

“Well, hello there, Dash,” Fenton said, closing his locker. “Nice to see you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m not here to fight with you. This is important,” Dash said. Paulina had given him permission to do this, but he felt like crawling out of his skin nonetheless. Keeping this secret had been fundamental for years. It was… uncomfortable to share it now. Still, Fenton was someone they could trust with it, of that he was almost certain.

Fenton rolled his eyes. “Yes, I can keep a secret.”

“Ok, so I don’t have a date anymore to the prom.”

“That isn’t exactly a secret.”

“No, the secret is that Paulina,” he said, leaning down to whisper in Fenton’s ear, “is a lesbian.”

Fenton’s eyes widened.

“Yeah,” Dash said, still whispering. “I’ve been her beard for eight years. But her parents got suspicious, so she had to switch over to Kwan. And so now I don’t exactly have a date.”

“Are you… asking me?”

Dash took a deep breath. “Yes.”

“Oh. Wow.” Fenton—Danny, he should probably call him Danny if he was asking him on a date—blinked up at him. “Didn’t see that one coming.”

“Look, I know it’s weird, but I want to be—I mean, like, I want to make up for being such a tool freshman year. And I know I’m asking you for a favor and all but—I promise it’ll be fun. And it—it might help Paulina feel less alone. So, please?”

Danny sighed. “I’m too damn nice.” Then he held out his hand for Dash to shake, looking him in the eye. “All right,” he said with a crooked grin, “it’s a date. But you’re getting the limo.”

Dash smiled and shook on it. “Fair enough.”

Danny looked down at the floor. Light blush dotted his cheeks and dark hair fell into his eyes. He mumbled something about Sam and Tucker before sliding away. He paused at the corner to wave before racing down the hallway.

The little nerd was still so awkward; it was kind of adorable. Dash had a feeling he’d have a hard time saying no to that face, too.


End file.
